La Campanella: the resonance of a little bell
by Kayuri Yoshinori Hiwatari
Summary: When Elmina Heike is forced to give up the loves of her life, violin & tennis, what else in life can she look forward to? Can Seigaku's stoic captain teach her to "not give up"? Together, they embark towards self-discovery.  TezukaxOC *Contains self-harm*
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of the Prince of Tennis series, all of which belongs to Takeshi Konomi. I also have no connection to the real life places, things, or people mentioned in this story. The original characters (OCs) are my intellectual property and any real life resemblance is merely coincidence. Without further ado…

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><p><em>La Campanella<em>

_-the resonance of a little bell-_

_**Prologue**_

Applause erupted from the audience at the Musikverin and again in several standing ovations. On center stage, the soloist amidst the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic is a 13-year-old girl, and she has just finished playing Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2. She enthusiastically waves into the darkened audience, who still continue to clap. Both she and the audience have tears in their eyes. The news that violin prodigy Elmina Heike was retiring at such a young age sent shock waves throughout the music world. As if trying to coax her to stay within the limelight of classical music, her final performance tonight was sold out. Unfortunately, money could not stop the irreversible repercussions of the young girl's recklessness.

Unbeknownst to the public, Elmina had another passion besides her violin. The love affair she dared to have had been with tennis. She had entered in several junior tournaments throughout Europe whenever she was not playing at concerts or recording a new CD. Never wanting an opponent to go easy on her due to her popularity, she partook in tennis under an assumed name: Mina Klein. It was a risk indeed. Injuring one's fingers or hand during a game would spell death to a musician. Being a young child, dire consequences were to be had with naivety to the world's cruelty. While she treated her opponents in a respectful manner in hopes that they would do the same, it was not below some people to resort to jeopardizing their opponent to acquire a win. She was faced with one such opponent 2 weeks ago.

The game had been going in her favor, with the current score at 4-1 and the last 2 games under her belt. If she won this set, she could proceed to the quarterfinals. Yet, it was not to be so. It was her opponent's turn to serve. Whether it was out of frustration or to serve as an intimidation, her opponent's serve had reached up to 99 miles per hour and squarely hit Elmina's right shoulder. The serve was out, and so was Elmina. Taken aback, her racket had dropped due to the sheer pain she was in. Clutching her shoulder, she felt something moving underneath the skin. The edge of her collarbone had broken and her shoulder was partially dislocated. Immediately, the chair umpire declared Elmina unable to participate in the match. As a result, she forfeited and Elmina's opponent was able to proceed to the quarterfinals in her place. If it was any consolation to the young girl, her opponent had lost in her next match.

At the hospital, Elmina was regretfully told to give up tennis, as well as playing the violin. She had lost both her loves in one day and no amount of revenge would be able to solace her. As a last resort, she had tried to do physical therapy. All attempts to do so were fruitless and left her in excruciating pain, as they soon figured out that Elmina could barely raise her arm above her head. Perhaps this was all for the best, as she would avoid the psychological downfall like many other musical prodigies like she had been prior, or so the adults in her life thought. Not long after the tennis incident & her final performance, the young girl was caught trying to slit her wrists. The once admired wrists that gracefully moved with a violin's bow and fiercely with handle of a racket were now marred with the fresh scars of a razor. Elmina was at a loss and had apparently lost all motivation to live without being able to participate in what her life had always revolved around. The doctor's final advice was to now try to live a normal life in another area altogether, as to let the young girl both psychologically and physically heal.

In order to do so, Elmina and her parents moved to Japan, her mother's homeland. Elmina would now be known as Minako Heike, discarding the German pronunciation of her last name (hai-keuh) and adopting its Japanese counterpart (heh-ee-kay). Once there, she enrolled a fairly normal school called Seishun Gakuen, or "Seigaku," she was told it was affectionately called. While she had heard that the tennis team had gained recognition in recent years, she placed the thought of it behind her, not wanting to once again fall into despair. With that, she prepared to start her new life.

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><p>AN: I'm honestly quite surprised on how easily the words flowed out of me when I wrote this, despite it being years since I've penned any sort of short fiction. Creative writing is definitely different than the expository and argumentative writing that I do in school. I hope that you can see my improvement in writing during my years of absence, as well as the maturation of style. I'll admit though that probably my only fault in re-learning this creative writing process is length. Something tells me that I'll have a hard time writing long chapters/stories, so please bear with me in the time gaps between entries that I'm almost certain will occur. Critiques, comments, etc. are all appreciated!


	2. A Prodigy No More

_**Chapter 1:**_

_**Wunderkind nicht mehr **_

–_**a prodigy no more-**_

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><p>Minako, as she now was called, arrived in Japan halfway through April. The country was abounding with the signs of spring, most notably, the blooming cherry blossom trees. On the way to Japan, Minako had been an apathetic shell of her former self, but now, Minako was completely entranced by the flowers, having never seen them before. It's as if they had acted as an anti-depressant, and she turned around to exclaim to her father: "Vater, ist es nicht schön?" grinning all the while.<p>

"El– Minako. We're no longer in Vienna. Speak in Japanese please." Her father replied to her in curt, yet sincere words. He wanted her daughter to adjust to life here as quickly as possible and place the past behind them.

"Oh right. Um… Aren't they pretty, dad?" she corrected herself. Due to her former lifestyle, Minako was unable to go to a regular school. Studying at the Vienna Philharmonic under concertmistress, Albena Danailova, made sure of that. Instead, she was homeschooled by her mother, who subsequently taught her Japanese. However, she could never be too of herself when speaking it because she only used it within casual conversation with her parents. Even if she could get past the language barrier, interacting with regular students her own age was also a completely foreign concept to her. Whether she liked to admit it or not, the seemingly ordinary act of going to school was frightening to her. But if she was going to change her life for the better, she needed to try. At least, that's what she told herself. However, the next morning…

"Mother~!"

"Yes dear?"

"I can't tie my tie."

"Oh dear…"

It was now apparent that Minako lacked something very essential to a teenager: independence. In the past, her father was always there to take care of business arrangements, and her mother was always within an arm's reach. Simply put, even the most mundane things she could barely manage to do on her own. Like walking to school, for example. Minako was never allowed to go anywhere alone, even on those clandestine tennis excursions. Things like the paparazzi and impromptu reporters were always a possible threat back then. But now, compared to the Elmina Heike that embellished magazine covers, television reports, and sold out concerts, this Minako Heike that she is now is a complete nobody. While it should never be seen as a compliment, Minako stared at herself in the mirror and realized that being "nobody" gave her a sense of liberty. She would finally be able to act like a normal teenager. Slipping on the pair of wristbands she used to wear while playing tennis to hide the scars on her wrists, she smiled at herself once more in the mirror to giver herself a boost of confidence and proceeded to go to school.

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><p>Unfortunately though, confidence cannot make up for lack of skill. Although, she was sure she had memorized the way to Seigaku while her parents toured her around the city. Memorization should come easy to a performing musician, but she had still managed to get lost. Looking around didn't help; the street signs were written in unfamiliar Kanji. Neither did asking for help, as she was certain no one would understand her. <em>Is this the everyday version of stage fright?<em> She started to internally panic, realizing it was already bad enough that she was starting after the school term had begun, but on top of that, she was going to be late on her first day. Suddenly, she spotted a bespectacled boy walking down the street a little ahead of her. She decided to finally take a chance and ask directions. At the very least, he would be able to point to the direction of the school.

"Excuse me…"

_He just didn't hear you. That's all. _

"Excuse me."

_Come on self! Speak up louder; it's only a small phrase. _

"Excuse me!"

Finally the boy turned around. "Oh sorry," the boy apologized, "I was studying my notes." Upon closer inspection, he was a tall boy with spiky black hair, and he carried a tennis bag that said "Seigaku" on it.

"Do you go to Seigaku?"

"Yes. …Why do you have a problem?" he inquired.

"Oh yeah. I just transferred today, and I got lost on my way there, so I was wondering if you could at least tell me which way to go?"

Silence. He eyed the girl in front of him. If he had to put an age on her, it'd probably be around 10. No wait, she's wearing a Seigaku uniform. She has to be at least 12. Quickly scrutinizing her further, he saw that she had a third year pin on her collar. So he was wrong, she had to be around his age. This girl's appearance betrayed her, he thought. She had a ridiculously short stature at… 140 centimeters. That's a good 11 centimeters less than Echizen. And with that wavy brown hair, she looks like some bisque doll imported straight from Germany. She looks barely Japanese if it weren't for her eyes…– His thoughts were interrupted.

"Um… did you understand that? I'm sorry if my Japanese is bad, I just moved here and – "

"No. It's fine. I understood you perfectly. Just follow me or we're going to be late." All the while as she followed him, he couldn't help but shake the feeling he's seen her somewhere before.

When they finally reached the school gate, she proceeded to thank her escort: "Thank you very much um…"

"Inui."

"Oh. Thank you very much Inui-san. I think I'll be able to find the Principal's office from here." And off she went.

Nudging his glasses upward, Inui quickly scribbled something down in his notes.

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><p>It was a miracle that Minako didn't get lost trying to find the principal's office. Knocking on the door, she was answered with a "Come in." Pushing it open, it revealed the principal, Hiroyuki Ishikawa, and a male student. Walking in, she closed the door behind her.<p>

"Don't be so shy. Come now… Stand right next to Tezuka-kun." He beckoned her to come forward, and she stood stiffly next to him. The boy was tall and also had glasses. His hair was dark brown and was parted off to the side. For some reason, she felt that she was attracted to his aloof demeanor. "This is Kunimitsu Tezuka, a third year like yourself. He's the student council president, as well as captain of the tennis team. He's also stayed in Germany for a while, and I understand you're from Vienna, so if you need help, don't hesitate to ask him anything – in Japanese or German, haha!" She hesitantly placed her left hand up for a handshake, which was returned in a more stoic manner. "Heike-san, you are in the same class as Tezuka-kun. Now off to class you two go." And he shooed us out of his office.

On our way to class, Tezuka's brevity and lack of conversation made me realize that was he probably was a man of few words. The only thing he did tell me was to wait outside the classroom door until the teacher told me to come in to introduce myself. Once again, my insecurities plagued me. _What if they don't understand me?_ But in the same instant, I was able to regain my composure._ Just keep it simple. Simple will get you through the day. You're nobody remember? There's no camera to smile for and no audience to impress._ When my name was called, I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Okay class. This is Miss Minako Heike. She's from Vienna and hasn't been in Japan for very long, so please try and help her out if she finds trouble with anything, okay? Now, introduce yourself, Heike-san."

"Good morning everyone. My name is Minako Heike. Since I'm from Vienna, I can also speak German. I love classical music and te–. Oh, nevermind. Haha… I, uh, look forward to a great school year with you all." In the end, all I could do was smile at the class. _What's wrong with me? I nearly slipped up and said I liked tennis! I hope I didn't look stupid trying to laugh it off._ But instead all she heard were whispers. All of them were mainly along the lines of, "She's small and cute!" and "How did she get her hair to be that wavy?" I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. In magazines and such, I was always referred to as "refined" and "elegant." The words they were using made me feel like I was a child. Thankfully, the teacher brought an end to their banter.

"Okay. That's enough class. Thank you for your introduction Heike-san. You can take the seat in front of Tezuka-kun."

As soon as she took her seat, Minako's first official day of being a normal teenager had started. Indeed, she was a prodigy no more.

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><p>AN: It is nearly 3 AM in the morning, so I apologize if there are any blatant mistakes anywhere. This reminds me of those times when I was younger, trying to bust out chapters every night, haha. Somehow this chapter ended up being different then I had previously planned. Originally, I had planned to utilize this chapter to show that while she was a prodigy at one point, she does have some bonafide faults and insecurities like us all, but in the process, I think I made her a bit too girly. Minako seems too happy from the original image I had of her. I probably might re-write it at some point. Mustwritesomethingdarker. /shot


	3. Anxiety & Suffering

_**Chapter 2:**_

_**Sorge**__** und Leid**_

_**-**__**anxiety**__** & suffering-**_

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><p>It was only when the young girl took her seat that Tezuka realized he had failed to notice something during their earlier meeting in the principal's office. Because she had shaken his hand with her left, he immediately assumed that she was left-handed like himself, but looking at her now, he observed that she wrote with her right hand. Not only that, whenever she would raise her hand for a question, she would use her left hand. This also applied for handing back papers to him. It was like she was a living contradiction…<p>

It was only during lunch time, when he decided to stick around the classroom for once, under the premise that he was just watching over her, that he was able to confirm his suspicions. She also used her left hand for using chopsticks. It seemed that the only purpose her right hand served was to write. And what exactly did she stop herself from saying during her introduction this morning?

_Think, Tezuka. Think,_ he thought to himself. _What are words that start with "te"? Not many nouns that are lovable start with "te" in the Japanese language. Te… zuka? No. Stop being self-centered. You just met. Of course she doesn't "love" you. Te… _

He looked at Minako again, searching for a hint in deciphering her unsaid words, and then he saw it. Those wristbands. "Tennis," he thought out loud. As if in response, he heard something clatter onto the girl's desk. She had apparently dropped her chopsticks.

"Oh silly me. Aha…ha… I guess I'm not used to eating with chopsticks yet. Did you say something, Tezuka-kun?" _Crap. Did he figure me out about liking tennis? Just deny it._

Tezuka inwardly cursed at himself for letting his thoughts slip out. "Ah… I was just saying that here in Japan, all students must participate in a club activity. Have you thought about joining a club yet? I was thinking that if didn't have one in mind, you could join the tennis club… we're ranked this year."

"I know." She answered him back almost instantaneously.

"You… do?" he inquisitively questioned.

"Ah… I mean… the principal told me about it earlier. He gave the utmost accolades on your team's success." She smiled at him. _Come on, smile… work. Make him totally forget that you knew anything about tennis._

"Is that so?" Although, he recalled himself being in the room with her when she talked with the principal, no such topic ever came up in their conversation, other than the principal mentioning that he was captain of the tennis team. _Interesting,_ he thought._ Just what exactly is she hiding behind that smile of hers?_ Well, seeing as they just met today, he thought it best if he didn't inquire further. It wasn't even in his personality to meddle in the affairs of others, so he placed his thoughts aside for now. "You know, if you want, I can bring you to the tennis courts myself after school today."

"That'd be nice," was the girl's honestly reluctant answer. _I'd rather not have anything to do with tennis anymore, but it'd be rude if I decline…_ she sighed.

"Is something wrong, Heike-san?"

"Oh… no it's nothing, ha…ha…ha." As she finished up the rest of her lunch, the rest of the school day also proved to be uneventful.

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><p>After school however, she followed through with her earlier agreement as Tezuka escorted her to the tennis courts. The sound of tennis balls being hit back and forth slightly unsettled something deep in Minako's mind, but she put the thoughts behind her in favor of listening to what the captain had to say.<p>

"…I forgot to mention that the girls' tennis here is recreational. If you want to enter into the intraschool rankings, you'll have to appeal to the student council president; the boys' tennis captain; the tennis manager, Ryuuzaki-sensei; and the principal to participate alongside the boys. If you're interested – half of those people shouldn't be a problem." He discussed as they walked.

_Is he trying to make conversation? _"Oh… I never got really into tennis. I don't know too much about it. So I don't think –"

He interrupted her, as they reached outside the boys' locker room. "Just wait out here. I'll be back in a minute. "

Left alone to gather her thoughts, she wondered why he cut her off just then. Suddenly the noise of tennis balls being rallied against the fierce swing of rackets came back again. Looking up, she saw that 2 boys were having a match. One had his eyes perpetually closed, smiling all the while. He seemed to return things without much effort and was just clearly playing the game for the sake of playing. Looking across the court though, he saw a familiar figure. It was Inui. But something about his composure was completely different from the calm and collected person that had escorted her earlier this morning. He clearly had the look of frustration on his face and –

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

_Why must you interrupt my line of thinking?_ Her thoughts screamed out in the same manner of Inui's tennis that she had just witnessed. She casted a sideward glance at the captain of the tennis team. She saw that in his jersey, Tezuka seemed to command more attention than usual. Detecting her eyes on him, he returned her glance, but just for a moment. She immediately looked down to the ground. "Like I tried saying before, I don't think tennis would be a good match for me."

"You never know until you try…"

"But I already kn– "

"Already what…?" His eyebrows piqued in interest. _Tell me. Just what do you know?_

"I… uh, I already… thought about joining another club." She mentally groaned. _How on earth was she going to back up this claim…?_

"Really? Which one?" _Doesn't this girl know that the avoidance of eye contact is a tale-tell sign of lying? Just what could she possibly be hiding?_

Silence. She didn't know how to respond. She had to give him credit for being so perceptive on only their first day meeting. She had never experienced the feeling of being this apprehensive or this confused as to what to do. The half-hearted, "That'd be nice," that she said earlier was making her regret it so much.

He had caught her red-handed, but decided not to push it further. After all, he had all school year to decrypt the young girl before him. _Wait. What in the world was he thinking? Just what exactly did he find so intriguing about this girl?_ He couldn't really pinpoint it himself. _Was it the feeling of not being trusted that irked him so?_ He couldn't blame her though. He knew very well what people regarded him as: stoic. But his closer friends would say that he was probably more along the lines of caring. Reserved, yes; but caring too_. Ah, so that was it._ He _cared_ for her, but right now all he could do was play along until she opened to him, if that ever was going to happen. "…Well, if you change you mind, at least you now know where the tennis courts are. You can just sit on the bench there and watch them play until after we're done. I need to conduct practice."

All she could manage was a "sure," before absentmindedly sitting down. He had realized what she had done, but he didn't rebuke her for it. She tried to fathom why, but once again, the sounds of the tennis balls resonated within her head. She started to get a headache and couldn't concentrate on watching the game. The thoughts inside her head became overridden by something much more powerful: emotions. It first started as an overflowing anger, and so much so, that when she clutched her hands into fists, it drew blood. Seeing the blood creep from underneath her fingertips immediately altered her emotions into one of palpable fear. Flashbacks of that day her life changed replayed themselves in her eyes. Words started rushing through her head: _Get out of here. I gotta get of here. I don't want to be here anymore._ No longer giving herself time to think, she instinctively got up, grabbed her things and headed towards the school gate. _Home_ was all she thought about then.

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><p>It didn't take long for Tezuka to notice that their team's lone audience member was no longer there. Fearing something could go wrong, he instructed Oishi, the vice-captain, to take over practice in his stead. <em>I could just be overreacting, but after all, she's my responsibility for the day. After Inui told me about the run in he had with her this morning, I can only hope she hasn't already gotten lost<em>. When he caught up with her, she was just outside the school gate walking in a rather rigid gait. He called out to her, "Heike-san…" but she kept on walking. "Heike-san." He noticed her pace got faster. "Heike-san!" at that, she nearly broke into a run, but not before the captain himself caught up to her and grabbed her right wrist. Even after all that, she refused to turn around and tried to pull herself away from him, but he refused to lighten his grip. As he did so, he felt something drip onto his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was blood. "Heike-san… what's wrong?" He was replied back in silence, aside from her struggling to get away. "…Mina Klein." At once, her body froze and the struggling stopped. "Was ist lost?" ("What's wrong?")

Finally, after another period of silence, "Ich weiß nicht, was du redest…" ("I don't know what you're talking about…")

"Ich will reden." ("I want to talk.") He slackened his grip a little, in hopes that she too would lower her guard. It was wishful thinking. Realizing he did so, the girl took it as an opportunity to escape. Heaving strongly at her right arm, she managed to get away, but while doing so, a "pop" was heard. "Mina… Ihre Schulter!" ("Mina… Your shoulder!") It was no use. She was in fight-or-flight mode, and her brain hardly registered the pain. Still, she clenched her shoulder as she tried to make a run for it. Realizing that the girl had dislocated her shoulder, he gave chase. After the instance he faced with his own shoulder, he knew better than to leave her alone. Unlike before, this time when he ran after her he decided to pull her into an grip from behind as to not let her escape once more. But like before, he once again felt something on his hands. Not blood, but tears. Suddenly, he felt the strong impulse to properly embrace the girl in his arms. Turning her around, he pulled her close, as her sobs became buried into his clothes. While she grasped his shirt tightly, he placed one hand around her waist and the other intertwined with her hand that was upon her shoulder in hopes of alleviating some of her pain. Before he realized what he was doing, he had kissed her atop the head. They had stayed this way until Tezuka had heard her tears subside. She pushed him away slightly with the hand clutched his shirt. As she did so, she felt his heartbeat. It was fast, but it seemed to calm her down. For the first time the whole entire day, she gazed up and looked directly at Kunimitsu Tezuka. Amidst the pain she was in and remnants of tears that rolled down her face, she sincerely smiled at him. Within that smile, he saw someone who was truly beautiful, no longer wrought with anxiety or suffering.

"Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar." ("I'm very thankful to you.")

"Warum so förmlich?" ("Why so formal?")

"Warum…?" ("Why…?") The question hung in the air.

As it did, he took the opportunity for introspection. Gazing into her eyes, he recognized it. Again he asked the question, "Warum so förmlich? …Meine Liebste."

("Why so formal? …My love.")

She looked upon him with eyes of wonderment. "Meine Liebste…?" ("My love…?") After she got past the shock of this man of few words' confession, she whispered "Mein liebster… Kunimitsu." ("My dearest… Kunimitsu.") She saw that the expression on his face had changed. For the first time today, she saw him smile.

That smile signaled something in Tezuka. He too was no longer anxious as to why he was fascinated by her. Nor did he suffer in the confines of his mind over her actions because now he knew why. He didn't care for her like his teammates or the student body. She was special. Indeed. And he _loved_ her for it.

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><p>Amid their heart-to-heart moment, it seems they forgot Mina(ko)'s shoulder was still injured. She hesitated to bring it up, but before she could, she was lifted off her feet.<p>

"Now, let's bring you to a hospital. Inui told me how bad you are with directions. And he was the one that also figured out who you really were. It was those wristbands of yours. You also wore them back while you were still in Vienna, playing tennis. He just so happened to have a magazine featuring Junior Tennis Players in Europe. However, Inui said he thought he saw you somewhere else before, so he cross referenced your image. And guess whom he found gracing magazine covers, television reports, and selling out concerts. It was you, Elmina Heike."

She was absolutely dumbfounded. He saw through her façade the whole entire time, and all on their first day of meeting. But even after receiving the news that her cover had been effectively blown, she smiled. If she wanted anyone to know who she really was, it would be him. "Te– Kunimitsu?"

"Hmm?"

"Ich liebe Dich." ("I love you.")

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><p>AN: Too much romance too soon? Think Tezuka figured it out all too quickly? Well you're not the only one, so do I! /shot I may split it up in the future and place in more development. Also just to let you know, the repetitive literary structure here is done on purpose to show how words can have different meaning depending on the context. Hopefully it didn't seem too redundant. Also, I hope the gratuitous use of German wasn't too distracting. I was debating whether or not to put the translations within the text or have footnotes. If you find it distracting, please say so and I'll adjust the format accordingly. Also, I honestly only took German for about 2 months before quitting, so if your German grammar is better than mine, please feel free to correct me. Now off to sleep! 2nd semester and my last 5 months of high school start tomorrow.


	4. The Silver Moon & Stars

_**Chapter 3:**_

_**Die Silbermond und Sterne **_

_**-the silver moon & stars-**_

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><p>The young girl awoke in a hospital bed. Apparently she had fallen asleep in the captain's arms on the way to the hospital. However, when she turned to finally look around the immaculately white and sterile room she was in, she was alone. Apparently she had been knocked out for at least a day since the incident. She looked at the clock that read 4 PM. It was 8 AM back in Vienna; she was still jet-lagged. <em>Kunimitsu's still at tennis practice, isn't he?<em> She tried to prop herself up in bed, but mistakenly tried to place the weight upon her right arm. Bad move. She fell back upon the bed clenching her shoulder in pain. This familiar and not-too-long-ago scenario brought the implications of her actions to the forefront of her mind. If the pain was this bad, there's no doubt she'd have undergo physical therapy all over again. She sighed out in a melancholic manner. _Just when I thought things were finally going well too._ She looked at the clock once again, not even 10 minutes had past.

_Well there's no use in sulking is there? I might as well take my time to look around this hospital_. Another bad move. Her fatal flaw of being directionally challenged was exacerbated in this maze of similar looking hallways and rooms with titles of Kanji that she couldn't really read. After wandering around for quite awhile around the premises, she heard a familiar noise. It was a violin, and a badly played one at that. Turning the corner and heading towards the sound, she came upon the hospital's lounge. Further ahead she saw a girl around her age hopelessly trying to play Vivaldi's La Primavera. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She remembered playing that very same piece when she was 5 for own debut concert back in Vienna. But soon her small smile was immediately replaced with an overarching frown. She now looked upon the violinist with annoyance and disdain. "Pathetic," she whispered. Irritation started to build up within her. _Her intervals are all wrong. That bowing technique is horrible. She's applying too much pressure._ All she now could hear was the violin's pleas to be played to its upmost potential. For a moment, she entertained the idea of going over the girl and showing her how it was really done, but the dull ache in her shoulder coerced her into thinking otherwise. She soon found herself sick to her stomach. She couldn't bear to be around the atrocious sound of the other girl's violin. _Restroom. I need to find a restroom._ She backed away slowly from the sound, as her eyes darted back and forth looking for the nearest area for relief. Turning around, she was able to make out the katakana on the sign behind her that read "toilet." Quickly running in the direction the sign pointed in, she found herself alone in the girl's bathroom. Locking the door and holding herself over the sink, nothing came out except for words. "You're no good… You have no talent…" The words themselves were barely above a whisper. She lifted her head up and took a good look at herself in the mirror. She just realized how much the pain took a toll on her. Her hair was slightly disheveled, eyes showing signs of fatigue, and her skin was pallid. She cracked a slightly deranged smile at the sight of herself. Unconsciously, her hand had started to curl into a first. Suddenly, her reflected image had become opaque and cracked. It was now a stained glass of her broken self and blood. Dragging her fingers over the shattered glass, she spelled out the word "failure" before collapsing onto the restroom floor.

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><p>The young girl awoke in a hospital bed. Apparently she had passed out due to blood loss. When she tried to turn to look around the immaculately white and sterile room she was once again in, she found that she couldn't. Apparently she had been strapped down to the bed. She frowned. <em>Suicide watch. <em>She at least tried to turn her head to look at the clock that read 8 PM. It was 12 PM back in Vienna, but she was no longer jet-lagged. On the contrary, she felt wide-awake. Albeit, slightly drained, but awake. She also felt something grasping her hand. Looking towards the side of her bed, Tezuka had his head resting atop the bed, sleeping. _How long has he been here?_ Suddenly he heard the boy whisper something amongst his sleep. "My… fault. I'm… sorry…" In response, her thoughts tried to convey him that it was not his fault at all. _Silly boy. This was none of your fault to begin with. _She subconsciously clasped the boy's hand tighter. This different scenario brought the implications of her actions to the forefront of her mind. If she started dragging other people down into her depths of misery, she was sure that she could never forgive herself. She sighed out in a melancholic manner. _Just when I thought things were finally going to end._ She looked at the clock once again, not even 10 minutes had past.

Turning her head towards the other side, she noticed the night sky through the window. "_Funkel… funkel… kleiner sterne.__" _("Twinkle… twinkle… little star.") Whatever possessed her to sing this childhood song, she did not know. All she did know was that she felt uncontrollably nostalgic, longing for a time where none of this happened.

"_Ach wie bist du mir so fern.__"_ ("Up above the world so high.")

She heard a tenor's voice smoothly singing the next line of the song from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She snapped her head to the other side. Her eyes were met with his steady gaze. Somehow his eyes looked pained to her, and she wanted to reach out to give him solace, but her limbs were still bound. "…Ku— Tezuka. I'm… sorry." Her voice was barely audible, but it still pierced the silence between the two. She broke away from his gaze, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

"Tezu—" He cut himself off. _What she calls me is beside the point. More importantly…_ "Are you… okay?"

Silence. He should've been used to this by now, but staring at the girl's face that was turned away from him told him to be concerned. Unexpectedly to him, he saw tears starting to flow down the girls face. No sound, but the tears were enough of an excuse for him to do what he was about to do.

She closed her eyes. She wanted to hide away. Bury her head into her hands. _Anything_ would do. She didn't want him to see her like this, being confined to a bed. The bandages seeped with blood around her wrists and hand spoke louder than any words she could've said. Her eyes slowly opened. She could make out Tezuka's profile that was directly above her through her tear-blurred vision. _Wait. Above me?_ "Te—!" Before she could say anything, his mouth silenced hers.

Above them, the silver moon and stars bore witness to their intimate act.

* * *

><p>AN: This could've totally been a sex scene. No, seriously. Elmina's totally bound on the bed, and Tezuka could've easily taken advantage of her, but we all know he's more of a gentleman than that. ;D I have no idea what you fans were thinking but, that being said, "intimate act," does not imply sex whatsoever, and only refers the kiss they had. (_)

Notice in part 1 and 2, the introductory paragraph is nearly the same. I tried to give a feel of déjà vu. This chapter is somewhat deliberately short to give more priority to the fragile state of mind that Elmina is in. I hope I conveyed what she is going through at least somewhat effectively. Your input, reviews, comments, etc. would be greatly appreciated!


	5. Exceeding Limits

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Überschreiten grenzen**_

_**-exceeding limits-**_

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><p>A few days later, Minako once again found herself back in Seigaku after being released from the hospital for good behavior. However, being back in school was anything but normal. Despite hardly any words being exchanged between them, the two were noticeably closer than just the student council president and new girl. People gawked at the two and whispered things. They were saying things she couldn't understand. Japanese slang, no doubt. But soon stillness enshrouded the hallways and classrooms, but even sooner still, they were replaced with girlish squeals and husky murmurs. In the doorway of Year 3, Class 1 stood Keigo Atobe from Hyoutei Middle School. A snap from him, and once again, all was hushed.<p>

Elmina casually glanced over the door where all the commotion was. As soon as she saw who it was, she turned around in her seat and faced towards the window. _Is that really Keigo? It's been years since I've seen him, but he's still as cocky as ever._ Chancing a glimpse to left side of her, she saw that Tezuka was visible irritated.

Atobe nonchalantly walked over to the podium. The teacher tried to stop him, but one glance from him shut her up. He projected his voice loudly. "The king is looking for someone." There was reticence until…

"Atobe. Leave. You're disrupting class." It was Tezuka.

"Quiet Tezuka. It's not you the king wishes to see. It is my understanding that someone by the name of Elmina Heike here. Where is she?"

No one responded to him directly, but whispers started up again. "Does he mean the violin prodigy? What's she doing here in Japan? Forget that, what's she doing at OUR school?"

Elmina shifted slightly in her seat. He shot a glance in her direction, but her back was still turned to him. "You there. You dare have your back to the king? Let me see your face." At those words, she slowly and reluctantly turned to face the front of the classroom. His lips curled up into a small smile the moment the face came into view. "The cat's out of the bag, Heike. There's just no way I'd never forget that face of yours." He had said the name with a German accent. In return, the girl looked upon him with contempt, but spoke no reply. "Playing coy, eh? Why don't you just tell everyone who you really are Minako Heike. Or is it Mina Klein? Well… how about it, Elmina…?"

"Mina Klein, as in the girl who was one of the top ten in the Europe Junior Tennis Circuit? Wait, 'was'? What happened? Didn't you hear? She suddenly retired in the middle of the last tournament a couple weeks ago. Hey wait… They're all the same person?" The side conversations continued as people snuck glances at the girl.

He laughed out loud at the utterances he elicited from the rest of the students, clearly trying to provoke the girl into saying something. However, his laughing soon became engulfed in silence. Although, this time the quietness was different; the atmosphere felt heavy. The tension was clearly felt between the two. Despite it being a one-sided conversation between them, they obviously had some kind of relationship, but what that type of relationship was a mystery. His smile faded at the girl's lack of response. Only her eyes exhibited any sign that she registered his significance. Behind her blue yet Asiatic eyes, hatred flared. "How about I ask you this, Elmina? Why are you at… this… school? You'd be much more suited to Hyoutei. All the fame, prestige, and luxury you are used to would at your fingertips." In retort, she just impatiently tapped her fingertips on the desk. The sound itself was dull, but soon came to be redundant amongst the stillness. Finally she said something.

"Ist dass alles was Sie zu sagen haben?" ("Is that all you have to say?") She curtly replied with an unamused look apparent on her face.

"Nein." ("No.") He smirk returned. He seemed to be enjoying the pressure he was putting her through. "Three years ago, though I hate to admit it," he gritted his teeth as he said the next words, "I lost to you terribly at the European Junior Open. To be frank, I'm looking for reve— a rematch. Since you're in Japan, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for such a thing."

Soft words were once again aroused from the student body. "THE Atobe, King of Hyoutei lost to little Minako? That's impossible right?" Annoyed, the king snapped his fingers. All was silent.

"How about it… What's your name here again? Oh right. How about it, Minako?" His smirk had now turned into a devious smile.

"Don't even thin—" Tezuka tried to reason with Elmina, but he spoke too late.

"Fine," was her only word of response.

* * *

><p>Minutes later, they found themselves on the tennis courts. She hadn't brought a racket with her or any sports clothes to wear, as she had planned to abandon that part of herself. However, Atobe had laid all the preparations prior to their confrontation. Her clothes, racket, visor, even the wristbands, were exact replicas of what she had used to use. He had bought them for her to use. She inspected the racket just by looking, and then gingerly picked it up in her <em>left<em> hand, checking for tension and the weight. It was perfect. A little _too_ perfect.

On the other side of the fence was an anxious looking Tezuka. "Don't do this to yourself." He sounded almost like he was begging her to stop. "What about your shou—" One icy glare from the girl petrified him and prevented from finishing his sentence. She had become a completely different person compared to the nearly mentally instable girl back at the hospital.

"Hypocrites shouldn't talk." Her words were terse, but the inner thoughts of her mind betrayed her distant exterior. She was, in fact, very scared of playing tennis again. She had used tennis as a form physical therapy, but all ended in failure. Not due to the pain, but due to the fact that if she pushed her shoulder hard enough, it wouldn't even be able to perform the simplest of tasks. Though she did find a way around this by learning how to play tennis with her left hand, her power, control, and speed were that of just a normal, casual player. Perhaps even less. Her opponent was Atobe. He would be sure to notice the drastic change in skill, if he didn't already notice she was using a different hand from before. To add onto her unease, the whole entire school had come to watch their match; even the teachers were keenly observing the match that was about to take place. At one point in her life, she would have reveled in this kind of atmosphere, but now the pressure just suffocated her.

"Heike! Hurry up and let's start the match. I'm ready for payback." He said her name in German again. She cringed at the sound of it. The visible twitch was apparent to Tezuka, and he tried to say something, but before he could even get any words out, she had her back towards him and was already walking towards the court.

"Sorry for the wait." She didn't sound apologetic at all. In fact, her voice was extremely flat and monotonous.

"You can serve. Ladies first, after all." He tossed the ball over the net and it rolled to the base of her feet. He observed her shakily pick it up with her _right_ hand; her racket was in her left. _If I recall, she's right hand dominant. Is this some new technique?_

Walking to the baseline of the right side of the court, she prepared to serve, but instead of tossing the ball up, she simply just let the ball drop and hit an underhanded serve. There was no adverse spin applied or any assisting tactics used. It was just a regular, dead-spun ball, if not already on the weak side. A coward's serve is what they called it. She made a dash for the net.

_A serve and volley, eh?_ Atobe thought as he went to hit her serve. He noted it was extremely light. It was the equivalent of his earlier toss over the net. He scowled and he aimed for the back corner that was out of her reach. _Is she feigning her true skill with me? Is she mocking the king? How dare she!_

No effort to chase the ball was made. She simply stood her ground at the net. Underneath her visor, her eyes were her downcast, not even bothering to meet her opponent's eyes or follow the ball.

"15-0!"

The next three points followed in the same manner.

"Game to Atobe. 1-0. Change court."

"Tch." This time Atobe was the one who was unamused as he walked to the opposite side; the girl avoided him by walking on the other side. He had expected much more tenacity from her after their standoff in the classroom. It was now his turn to serve. If any competition was going to be found, he realized that he would have to coax it out of her like he did in the classroom. Disappointingly though, despite varying his levels of speed on his serves to try to stimulate a response from the girl, she just stood at the base of the service line, not even trying to hit the easiest of his shots.

"Game to Atobe. 2-0."

"Seriously, 2 love games in a row? Is she even trying? She's just standing there. Was she really a ranked player?" There were remarks coming in from all sides. She gripped her racket tighter. Although she did this, the power and style of her serve didn't change.

"0-40. Atobe leading."

_He's looking for vengeance right? If I just lose this, he'll be satisfied, and I can get on with my life without tennis._ Those thoughts were her justification to the diffidence she exhibited during the game. She served another half-hearted ball. But this time, instead of being returned to a place she simply couldn't reach, the ball was aimed at her grip. Her racket was knocked out of her hands as the ball bounced back towards Atobe, and this time, he returned it with a powerful smash. A small smile appeared on her lips, but she wasn't amused at his skill or anything. It was the irony. _The Rondo Towards Destruction…How appropriate. _

"Game to Atobe. 3-0. Change court."

This time she didn't avoid him on the walk to the opposite side. As they crossed paths, she casually posed a question: "Tell me Atobe, do you find this dance with the mangled ersatz of my former self fun? Revenge must be sweet." The words themselves sounded empty and cold. She continued to walk. Atobe however stopped in his tracks and turned around. As she heard his footsteps stop, she stopped as well, but kept her back to him.

"WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT BACK?" The explosive anger became apparent on his face.

"Das ist was du wolltest, kein?" ("That is what you wanted, no?") She resumed her walk to her side of the court.

As Atobe walked to his side, he started to laugh. _I'll make you regret that._

"Atobe to serve."

While his exterior seemed to regain composure, underneath his antagonism seethed. The aggression came out in bursts through his serves. It was not in his nature to harm his opponent, but he thought her a special case. The first serve was aimed her grip again. Then it was her right forearm. Left elbow was next. He was clearly toying with her. Trying to get her to retaliate, even if it meant hurting her. Finally, he aimed for her _right _shoulder. Up until then, she showed no signs of pain, only dropping her racket as the hits knocked it out of her hand. The last hit, however, caused her to clench her teeth and grab her shoulder. He looked down at the girl doubled over in pain with disdain. "Humph. So the rumors were true. You really did get injured."

"Injured? What does he mean injured?" The crowd started to murmur.

"Elmina Heike, otherwise known as Mina Klein and Minako Heike. Age 13. Date of birth: May 28. Blood type AB positive. A prodigious violin player who made her debut with Vivaldi's La Primavera with the Vienna Baroque Ensemble at the age 5. Started playing tennis at the age 7 and quickly rose to prominence with that as well due to her specialty in control and sharpness for aiming at her opponents' feet; a move aptly called The Downfall of Achilles. Other moves include: The Devil's Trill, in which she alternates the pace of her game, throwing the opponent off; Rondo à La Clochette, an illusionary move where the ball is aimed towards the center of face, straining the eyes to the point where they see multiple; and lastly, Der _Ring_ des _Nibelungen_ or The Ring of Nibelung, a suicidal move that utilizes extreme centrifugal force to drive the ball in rings instead of bouncing once on the ground — only known to have been used once during her championship match that secured her a ranking in the top 10 European Juniors. However…" Inui pushed his glassed up, "As of 2 weeks ago, her ranking had been formally withdrawn. Elmina Heike's retirement concert was also around the same time. Her final piece was Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2. Rumor has it that she was injured in her last tennis tournament seriously enough for her to call it quits. That would make sense, as 1 week ago, she and her family immigrated to Japan, and she registered with the Japanese Ministry of Justice the name she now uses." Inui closed his data book. "Did you know of her injury Tezuka?"

"No." He had not realized nor did he ever ask if she went through such a traumatic thing. All he knew of was her shoulder dislocation during their first day of meeting.

Atobe let the narration of girl's life end behind him and then glared at the chair umpire who forgot to call the score. His moves were perfectly legal after all; his prowess deserved to be recognized.

"F-four games to love."

As Atobe turned his back to her and walked towards his side, he eyes were met with the hardest stare he has ever gotten from Tezuka. "Oh… scary."

"That's enough Atobe. You're pushing it. You've clearly wo—"

"No. He hasn't." Minako picked up her racket with her _right_ hand. This time, she was the one to glare at the chair umpire.

"H-Heike to serve."

_Two can play that game, Atobe. After all, it takes two to tango. _The pain in her shoulder was indeed bothersome, but it could not compare the hell she was about to make her opponent go through. _If I'm going to go down fighting, I'll do it with everything I got without regrets. If my shoulder gets destroyed in the process, at least I'll be able to put a closure on this whole entire affair with tennis._ She steeled her resolved as she prepared to serve. This time though, she threw the ball high up into the air and jumped to meet it. Her right arched around, producing an apocalyptic service ace. It wasn't even registered as an ace until further inspection of the court had shown a skid mark where the ball skimmed in the inside corner of the service box, and the ball embedded itself in the higher reaches of the fence.

Atobe's mouthed gaped. Everyone else gasped. Minako just cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders around. She felt surprisingly loose, not tense at all, after that last serve. A sadistic smile emerged on her face. Tennis… was fun.

"Here comes the next one." So did the subsequent one and the one after that. All service aces. Out of sheer shock, it seemed that Atobe couldn't return them. "Hey~ chair umpire. You're forgetting something." She had a grin on her face. It resembled the look she had on her first day of school. She seemed so serene, if it weren't for her drastic change in style.

"…G-game to Heike. 1-4. Change court."

Once again, they crossed paths. This time Atobe was the one to pose the question: "Where did that power of yours come from?"

"This is the Devil's Trill. Be honored Atobe, I might as well have sold my soul to the devil himself…all for a chance to defeat you." She laughed as she continued to walk.

Atobe laughed as well in response. "The devil himself, eh?" _This was the girl I remember. _"The king accepts your resolve!" Though those words could not save him from the barrage of attacks she unleashed upon him.

Even though it was Atobe's serve, all her returns were expertly aimed at his feet, preventing him from scoring any winners. "You call yourself King? Ha! Just like Achilles, you will fall! Momento mori, Atobe!"

"Game to Heike. 2-4."

During her service game, the service balls bounced in a manner characteristic of the Rondo à La Clochette – straight towards his face. He swung blindly at them to no avail. Another round of service aces. While Atobe was visibly flustered, he also seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Game to Heike. 3-4. Change court."

Atobe decided to step it up and served 4 straight Tannhausers despite the strain it placed on his shoulder. While Minako couldn't do anything against them, she delighted in the fact that he was also willing to make the same type of sacrifice she was making.

"Game to Atobe. 5-3."

The young girl decided to copy Atobe's technique on her service game. She modified her Achilles serve to just roll upon the ground just as the Tannhauser did. However, her serve was aimed directly to roll into her opponent's feet. All Atobe could do was dodge the tennis balls assaulting him. "How's that for a Rondo Towards Destruction, eh Atobe?"

"Game to Heike 4-5. Change court."

Atobe realized that victory was within his grasp if he could only score the next 4 points. He resorted to try and serve another 4 straight Tannhausers, but the strain was too much, and they diminished in efficacy each time. The third and fourth times, Minako was able to return them by using a high-level topspin rising shot. While the strain was also great on her shoulder, it was something she was used to, unlike Atobe. She was quick to use this to her advantage.

"30-30."

Unable to conjure up the strength to perform another couple of Tannhausers, Atobe opted for a fast slice instead. _Perfect_, though Minako. Utilizing the spin already placed on the ball, she added on a strong sidespin upon her return. Atobe tried to make a run for receiving the ball, but as soon as it hit the ground, all it did was encircle him. It was The Ring of Nibelung's Japan debut.

"Game to Heike. 5-5."

Exploiting Atobe's fatigue, the quick successive use of pinpoint Achilles serves to further weather him out placed the whole entire set in her favor.

"Game to Heike. 6-5. Change court."

Atobe recognized that he could no longer take the easy way out if he wanted to win. Revenge is what he came there to get. However, his weariness had set in, resulting in a less than perfect Tannhauser that had a minute trace of a bounce. Once again using the spin to her advantage, she gave him Achilles-Tannhauser return that went straight for his feet.

"0-15. Heike leading."

"You sure you want to keep doing that Atobe? Your shoulder is not worth sacrificing…"

The only answer she received was an exasperated laugh before the next defective Tannhauser came. This time she used her Rondo à La Clochette, building upon his exhaustion. As the ball came back at him, he swore he could've seen at least 6 of them. He swung recklessly, in frugal hopes of hitting the ball.

"0-30."

Atobe vainly served 2 more Tannhausers. She in turn finished off the last 2 points with 2 consecutive Rings. "I had hoped that you had at least known the conclusion of The Ring of the Nibelung, Atobe. You should've known that the gods were destined to fall from the very start. In turn, you too were meant to lose." The self-proclaimed god slayer declared the game as hers.

"Game, set. Won by Heike. 7-5."

When she walked over to shake hands with Atobe, she had one last remark as she quoted the final words of the operatic play: "'Hear then, you mighty Gods. Your guilt is abolished: the _heroine_ takes it upon _her_self.'" As she let go of his hand, she crumpled onto the ground, letting go of her racket to reveal a bloodied grip, as well as her hand. As she slipped away into unconsciousness, she remembered hearing cheering and applause. Within her mind's eye, she visualized the darkened audience of the Musikvernin once more.

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><p>AN: Sorry it took so long for this chapter to get out (but hey, it's the longest chapter yet)! With school starting up again, it's hard to find time to write. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to think about this chapter myself. Let me think about that… and I'll write it here once I think of it. Maybe.


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